Process of feeding material to digesters.



G. H. TOMLINSON.

' PROCESS OF FEEDING MATERIAL T0 DIGESTERS.

APPLICATION TILED NOV.12. 1910.

Patented July 16, 1912.

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TOMLINSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR' TO STANDARD ALCOHOL COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

- PROCESS OF FEEDING MATERIAL TO DIGESTERS.

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Application filed November 12, 1910. Serial liTo. 592,023.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE H. TOMLINSON,

at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in the-Process of Feeding Material to Digesters, of which the following is a specification. the process of pro- My invention relates to ducing sugar from comminuted llgIlO-Cfillll: lose by the application of acid thereto.

a subject of the King of England, residing vfamiliar .process is that wherein sawdust is 'i employed and sulfuric acid applied thereto. 3

I do not, however, I sawdust or to the use of sulfuric acid. Any form of comminuted ligno-cellulose may be suitable for this process, and many kinds of hydrolyzing acids or acid gases may be employed, and they may be used in any conVen-' ient degree of density of solution. The best practice is to mix the ligno-cellulose in a rellimit myself to the use of atively large quantity with a comparatively:

small quantity of acid-carrying fluid, and to .effect an intimate mixture, under such circumstances,-is one of the objects ofmy invention.

It willbe seen that the problem presents considerable difliculties, and the effort to solve these difficulties has been very expensive and, in many cases, entirely unsuccessful. This is owing to the fact that the sawand tending to pack and delay the flow of fluid therethrough, resists the action, and hence it is necessary, so far as possible, to secure the application of the fluid to a very large number of particles of the ligno-cellulose. In the present invention I accomplish this by causing the ligno-cellulose to move in a widely extended, loose, thin film, over a supporting surface, and by spraying the acid-carrying fluid onto and into the surface of such stream. The material is then preferably immediately stirred, so as to complete the process of mixing.

It is, of course, highly important to secure a uniform mixture, for, in the succeeding processes to which the material goes for the purpose of producing sugar, and eventually'perhaps alcohol, it is highly desirable that no more acid than is necessary be employed, and that all the ,ligno-cellulose b equally'treated, so that all of the sugar possible may be produced, and no reaction be-- yond that of the production of sugarbe effected. There is, therefore, a' certain definite relation between the quantity of ligno-cellulose and the quantity of acid fluid employed, though of coursethese vary, depending on the nature and condition of the ligno-cellulose and the nature and condition of the acid employed. It is found that sawdust tends to move irregularly, owing frequently 'to very slight variations in its texture and character and thequantity of moisture present, and even to atmospheric conditions. Moreover, in. practice, it is difiicultto maintain a perfectly uniform stream of comminuted'lignocellulose, or sawdust, which is the form com- .monly treated, It is desirab1e, therefore,

thatthe flow of fluid be'contrjolled so as to be responsive to variations in the stream of moving sawdust. This principle is equallyapplicable no 'matter how the stream is formed or carried on. i 1

The stirringwhich I have alluded to as deslrable after the applicationof the acidcarrying fluidto the ligno-cellulose, may be effected in any desired manner, ,by moving the materialalong, or tossing itabout, or stirringit. 'I use the term stirring, with this broad general significance. When I speak of a spray of acid-carrying fluid, I mean, of course, any desired number of indi- -vidual jets, as one or more may be used as occasion requires.

The process maybe carried .into effect by apparatus as diagrammatically illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional View of the'apparatus; Fig. 2 is a sectionalong the line2 -,2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3' is a section along the" line 3-3 of Fig; 1; Fig. 4 is a detail'ofa modification.

Like parts are indicated by like letters throughout the'several figures.-

The belt conveyer A rides over the pulley A in opposition to the scraper A which discharges onto the inclined weighing platform A? which is supported at the edge near the pulley byjthe knife-edge A on the bracket A and at the edge farthest re moved therefrom by the knife-edge A and connecting link A? which terminates at its. upper end in the eye A carried by the hook A and supporting spring A which is caroscillated by the link B and pulley B driven by th belt B from the pulley A The chute B terminates at its lower extremity in the funnel O and discharge pipe C in opposition to the manhole C in the digester C and contains the spraying nozzles C in communication with the pipe C which is supplied from the reservoir C The link A is carried on the knife-edge D on one end of the scale beam D which is provided with the knife-edge D in opposition to the bracket D on the chute B and has the adjustable counterbalance weight D* and is in pivotal engagement at one end with the piston rod D piston D and dashpot D The funnels E which are in opposition to the spray nozzles C and discharge 'by means of the flexible tubes E to the pipe E and reservoir C, are carried on the frame 'E which is supported at one end by the link E from the chute B and at the other end by the arm E which projects from the fulcrum of the scale beam D and are so located along the frame E that any downward movement of the frame will take them successively out of opposition to the spraying nozzles.

In the modification suggested in Fig. 4, I have shown the supply-pipe C controlled by the valve F which is operated by means of the lever F and link F -from the arm E It will be evident that while I have shown in my drawings an operative device still many changes might be made in the size, shape and arrangement of the parts without departing materially from the spirit of my invention.

The use and operation of my invention are as follows: As the belt conveyer operates, the material carried by it discharges upon the inclined weighing platform, and owing to its inclination passes across it in a continuous sheet being discharged upon the upper end of the oscillating inclined tray down which it travels to the funnel at the end of the chute and thence through the pipe into the digester. Suitable means not shown force a continuous stream of acid or other liquid through the s ray nozzles, this stream being discharged Into the funnels in the position shown and thence back to the supply reservoir. When the material is passing across the weighing platform its weight depresses the platform and raises the scale beam thus rotating the arm which projects from the beam and thus carrying the funnels back out of register with the spray nozzles so they discharge onto thematerial passing along the tray below. The arrangement is such that one nozzle after another.

comes into operation andfor a slight'quantity of material only a few 'of the nozzles will operate while for a large quantity which greatly depremes the scale, all of the nozzles will be brought into operation. The relation between the amount of material passing and the amount of acid discharged thereon is controlled by an adjustable spring and a counterbalance on the scale beam, the dashpot being provided to prevent any violent changes in the supply owing to any local disturbance of the amount of cellulose being discharged across the weighingplatform.

The apparatus herein described is claimed in my copending application, Ser. No. 598,589, filed'December 21, 1910.

1. The process of mixing comminuted ligno-cellulose with an acid-carrying fluid, so as to produce an intimate'mixture, preparatory to the. process of producing sugar, which consists in moving a loose stream of ligno-cellulose, distributing thereon an acidcarrying fluid as it moves, and causing the quantity -of fluid distributed to vary, responsive to the variations in the stream of ligno-cellulose.

2. The process of intimately mixing comminuted ligno-cellulose and acid-carrying fluid preparatory .to the production of sugar, which consists in moving the comminuted ligno-cellulose in a relatively thin and widely extended layer over a supporting surface, and simultaneously discharging thereinto a spray of acid-carrying fluid.

3. The process of intimately mixing comminuted ligno-cellulose and acid-carrying fluid preparatory to the production of sugar, which consists in moving the comminuted ligno-cellulose in a relatively thin and widely extended layer over a supportingsurface, and simultaneously discharging thereinto a spray of acid-carrying flu1d,

the quantity of fluid discharged varying, re-

sponsive to the variations in the stream of acid-carrying fluid.

4. The process of mixing comminuted ligno-cellulose with an, acid-carrying fluid,

soas to produce an intimate mixture, preparatory to the process of producing sugar,

which consists in moving a loose stream of ligno-cellulose, distributing thereon an acidcarrying fluid as it moves, and causing the quantity of fluid distributed to vary, responsiveto the variations in the stream of ligno-cellulose; then stirring the ligno-cellulose 'so charged with such acid-carrying fluid.

5. The process of intimately mixing comminuted ligno-cellulose and acid-carrying fluid preparatory to the production of sugar, which consists in moving the comminuted ligno-cellulose in a relatively thin and widely extended layer over a supportlng surface, and simultaneously discharging thereinto .a spray of acid-carrying fluid; then stirring the ligno-cellulose so charged with such acid-carrying fluid.

6. The process of intimately mixing comluinuted ligno-oellulose and acid-carrying fluid preparatory to the production of sugar, which consists in moving the comlninuted ligno-cellulose in a relatively thin responsive to the variations in the stream of ligno-cellulose; then stirring the ligno-cellulose so charged Wlth such acid-carrying fluid.

7. The process of mixing comminuted ligno-cellulose or other cellulosic raw mate- 15 rial with a hydrolyzing fluid for the purpose of producing ferment-able sugars, which consists in distributing the fluid upon a moving body of the material to be con verted, and then stirring the mass to eflect 20 a more intimate admixture.

GEORGE H. TOMLINSON.

Witnesses:

ERNEST S. BALL, A. O. WENTZ. 

